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A Quick Guide to Braces Friendly Foods
While you’re on your way to a brand new, healthy smile, it’s essential that you take care of your braces with a proper oral hygiene routine and watching what you eat. Braces aren’t indestructible, and certain foods can actually be a serious threat to your braces. Just one bite of these foods could lessen a wire or knock off one of your brackets, delaying the time it takes to complete your treatment and get that new smile, not to mention it could be a costly repair. Here’s a quick guide for you to use as a basic roadmap to foods you should and shouldn’t eat.
Fear The Crunch
The question you should ask yourself each time you’re about to eat something while you’re wearing braces is if it’s crunchy or sticky. If the answer is yes to any of these, don’t eat it! This is because hard and sticky foods can bend wires, loosen brackets, and cause all around havoc for your hardware. The reason being is when you take a bite of something hard and your teeth cut though it, there is no give when it reaches your brackets and wires. Now taking a bite of something hard or sticky may not damage your braces 100% of the time, but it’s not worth taking the risk. It’s possible that you might have loosened a bracket or wire and don’t even know it.
Now that you know the basic rules for foods to avoid, here are some examples of what to avoid.
- Popcorn
- Nuts
- Hard Taco Shells
- Gum
- Ice
- Corn Chips (Including Doritos)
- Pretzels
- Hard Cookies & Crackers
- Caramel
- Taffy
When you’re about to eat, always ask the question if it’s crunchy or sticky. Even the slightest crunch or bit of chewiness could be slowly bending your braces. You can never be too careful! In the end, that radiant smile will all be worth it.
Let Them Eat Cake
While it’s the hard and crunchy food that you need to avoid, it’s easy to figure out that soft foods that can easily be chewed are’t a big threat. Some of these foods include.
- Cake (yum!)
- Soft Fruits
- Yogurt
- Soft Cheeses
- Soft Bread
- Lunch Meat
- Mashed Potatoes
- Melons
- Grapes
- Pastas
- Cooked rice
- Steamed Vegetables
This is just a handful of braces-friendly foods you can enjoy while you get your brand new smile, and it’s easy to find plenty of other braces-friendly foods and recipes online! Some foods that are soft but normally require a lot of chewing can be cut up into small pieces to make them braces friendly, but make sure to ask your orthodontist. Also, never forget that you need to take extra care of keeping your teeth and braces clean with consistent and thorough brushing, flossing, and a rinsing routine to keep your mouth clean and healthy!
Bring Your Questions To Us!
If you ever have any questions about your braces or if something specific is safe to eat, don’t hesitate to contact us! Our friendly staff will happily help you with any questions you have. If you do happen to damage your braces in any way while eating, make sure that you schedule an appointment with us right away so we can get your appliance fixed and working properly and keep you on the path to your perfect smile.